Central Bohemia - Regional specialty

The successor to the Habsburg throne, Franz
Ferdinand d’Este (1863-1914) was an avid
hunter (before he himself was shot). The recipe
below presents one of his favourite dishes:

Roasted pheasant a la Ferdinand d´Este

two or three pheasants

bacon - 200g

onion - 100g

root vegetables (carrot, celery root, parsley root) - 300g

butter - 50g

salt

bay leaf, allspice, whole peppercorns,
juniper berries, thyme

1. Cut the cleaned pheasants in half and
lard their legs and breasts by inserting
bits of raw bacon. Salt thoroughly and
place in a pan onto the chopped root
vegetables, roughly chopped onions,
remaining bacon, and spices. Add
a little water and a large pat of butter, and
slowly bake at 160° C.

2. Bake covered, stewing at first and only at
the end of cooking turn up the heat.

3. In some places they add pieces of fruit when
the pheasant is almost finished baking –
for example, plums and apples or also fruit
marmalades.

4. Divide into single servings and serve with the
baked vegetables and natural drippings.

Sometimes poultry, rabbit, pork knee, and
other meats are prepared according to this
recipe. Food cooked in this way is said to be “in
the wild manner” or “a la pheasant”.